I think of myself as a bit of a Futurist, I love dreaming of ideas that would make my life great with technology! So, here is my take on what I feel the future of Voice Search combined with AI and AR could hold for the online fashion industry! Let me give you my vision.
I walk into my house and ask VA (my voice assistant) to put the lights on and brew me a coffee,
VA replies "I will let you know when the coffee is ready".
I sit on my couch and decide it is time for a new Jacket. “VA, I'm in the mood for a new Jacket, show me some jackets from my casual profile”. I have 3 profiles that I have built into my clothes and body profiler app, Business, Occasion and Casual. These profiles have stored all my clothes preferences into categories from data I have added, and it learns from the clothes I purchase and websites like Pinterest. Over the years this has built up the perfect profile of the style of clothing I love. Within this app is also my body composition, you can visually scan your body with the camera in your phone or enter in your body details, size weight and height so it builds the perfect 3D body model of yourself. Of course, this is connected to your WIFI scale so the app can inform you politely that your stats may need refining. Once you have a good profile, search engines and retailers can call up the profile for information to help with the search.
The first search turns up items on my video wall, (surely, we will all have these by 2025!) with a polite voice that says, "here is your search, can you see anything you like?"
I say, “no, not really, I quite like A3, but I want more flare, look at my fresh and funky board”. Like categories, my boards are like mood boards that depict different styles and feel that I like. It just so happens if I want some kicking flares, abstract materials or wide collars, you know, something a bit different, it's all in my 'Fresh and Funky' mood board.
Straight away VA comes back and says "OK, I know exactly what you are looking for!" Fifteen Jackets appear on the wall that I mostly like. I say, “let's have a look at B2, the funky looking fitted jacket with the modern tweed and frayed patches”.
All of a sudden, a life-size 3d model of me appears on the wall in the Jacket. “Ok, I really like that VA, but I would like to see myself walking down the road on a sunny day from all angles”.
"No problems!" My trusty voice assistant says!
I appear walking in sunlight, I can see how the jacket moves, the fit and how the light affects it as the camera pans around me. Looks good I think, definitely suits my body type!
Of course, all this is achieved by garment modelling and profiling software. This is then paired with your profile app to match it to your body type. “I love this, but I'm not so keen on the brown, do they do it in a different colour?”
"Yes" says VA, "they have it in grey or mustard."
“Fit me in grey and put me in a restaurant in low light”.
"OK," says VA. And there I am sitting at a restaurant table in my new jacket. “I really like that, order it for me now”.
"OK, this will be with you by this Thursday, but before I order there is a shirt that matches this really well, would you like to look at it?"
“Go on then”. And just like that, I now appear in the most wonderful shirt with the Jacket! I think to myself this profiling business is going to cost me a fortune!
“Yes VA, please add that too.”
"Shall I now go ahead and order?"
” Yes”, I say.
"It will all be with you on Thursday before 1 pm. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
“No, have a good night VA”. With a coffee in my hand and a smile on my face, I sit back and look forward to Thursday. Just in time for the weekend! I think to myself wow; this is so much easier than back in 2020!
Well, that is my fantasy and perfect storm, it tackles a lot of the problems that I have highlighted in our article ‘Is Voice Search Within Fashion E-commerce the Future?’
I have no doubt that the Voice revolution that has just started will gain momentum and I look forward to the day I can sit on the sofa and order a new jacket with ease, without having to lift a finger!
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Thanks for reading
Ed Ball
Creative Director
Prestige Recruitment Group